


red, the color of

by kaaogami (ghoulnoace)



Category: Kuroko no Basuke | Kuroko's Basketball
Genre: M/M, Valentine's Day Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-13
Updated: 2017-02-13
Packaged: 2018-09-24 01:28:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,300
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9693785
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ghoulnoace/pseuds/kaaogami
Summary: However, of all the things Taiga thought Aomine would say,thiswouldn’t have made it on the list.“Kagami. Can you teach me how to make chocolates?Please.”"What?”





	

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Kagabutt](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kagabutt/gifts), [davevel732](https://archiveofourown.org/users/davevel732/gifts).



> Let's all please pretend that it's not uncommon for men to give chocolates on Valentine's Day in Japan.
> 
> Also, I know nothing about making chocolates.

Taiga will forever deny that his heart skipped a beat when his phone rings to signal a call and he sees _‘Aho’_ on the screen. And he also would never admit smiling fondly as he looks at the picture (secretly taken by Kuroko) of the blue-haired idiot doing one of his signature (and really, really amazing) formless shots. Nope. Never.

Not wanting to seem eager, he lets the phone ring for a few more times before answering with a “Yeah?” that he hopes sounds casual and not breathless and – god forbid – _happy._

 _“Hey, Kagami,”_ comes Aomine’s voice on the line, and shit. Taiga just can’t get used to hearing him speak so close to his ear, even if it _is_ through his phone speakers.

“Hey,” he echoes. He waits for the other to demand a one-on-one like he always does when he calls, but it doesn’t come. He pulls the phone away, expecting to see that the connection has been dropped, but it hasn’t. “Uh, why did you call?” Taiga prompts.

 _“Ah, it’s…”_ Aomine starts, but then he pauses again and lets out a soft curse. _“I’ve got a favor to ask.”_

If Taiga didn’t know better, he would have said that Aomine sounded _nervous._ But he’s known the guy for more than a year now and he does know better, and what he knows is that Aomine Daiki, who struts and smirks his way through everything and anything, is _never_ nervous. And he never asks for favors, at least, not from Taiga. “Okay?” he asks, tone unsure. “What is it?”

Aomine takes a deep breath, as if he’s steeling himself to speak, and Taiga’s really getting confused now, not to mention worried. Did he fight with Momoi again and need someone to rant at? Did his parents disown him and he needs a place to stay the night? Or worse, was he _hurt_?

However, of all the things Taiga thought Aomine would say, _this_ wouldn’t have made it on the list.

 _“Kagami. Can you teach me how to make chocolates?_ Please _.”_

_“What?”_

 

* * *

 

Taiga doesn’t know why he agreed, he really doesn’t. It’s just… Aomine really seemed desperate earlier. He even said ‘please’ more than once! And because it’s Aomine asking, he’d already said yes before he can even think twice about it.

And now he’s here, on a Sunday, waiting for the other man in front of the convenience store near Taiga’s apartment. He sighs and looks at his phone. Ten minutes until their meeting time. Maybe he can still cancel? Send Aomine a text telling him that Taiga can’t help him after all?

Ah, but when he’d said yes, Aomine had let out a relieved laugh and thanked him (thanked him!). He’d sounded so grateful and happy and goddamn it, Taiga is just so _weak._

Not even a minute later, Aomine rounds the corner. He hasn’t seen him yet, and Taiga takes the time to appreciate Aomine in casual clothes – a light, hooded jacket over that sweater he likes to wear, faded black jeans that aren’t tight enough for Taiga’s liking, and of course, his favorite basketball shoes. The look is so simple, yet Aomine’s effortless grace makes it _work._

“Yo, Kagami,” Aomine says when he’s close enough to not shout over the crowd.

“Hey. You’re early.” _Too early,_ Taiga thinks, feeling his good mood at seeing the other man start to plummet.

Aomine looks away and rubs the back of his neck, and Taiga knows from Kuroko that what he’s going to say next is a lie. “Yeah, well. I was already nearby, so it didn’t take me long to get here.”

“Oh. Let’s get this over with then. Just remember that you’re paying for all the ingredients, Ahomine,” Taiga says as he turns around to enter the store, keeping his tone teasing even as he feels the grin falling off his face. Aomine’s not here early because he’s nearby, of course not. It’s because he’s excited to make the damn chocolates and give them to a pretty girl with an E-cup.

“Yeah, yeah. I know, Bakagami,” says the man behind him, and for the first time in a long while, Taiga resents the nickname.

Because yes, he’s an idiot for helping the one he loves make Valentine’s chocolate for a person that isn’t and could never be _him_.

 

* * *

 

“No, not like that!”

“I’m doing it the way you told me to!”

“Wait – wait! The heat’s too high, you’ll burn – and there, you burnt it.”

“Fucking _fuck_! Why the hell didn’t you tell me that _before_ I burnt the damn milk?!”

“First of all, it’s heavy cream, not milk. And second, _don’t fucking shout at me!”_

They stare at each other, both heaving deep breaths at their outbursts and mouths drawn down in frustration and anger. This is really stupid. This idea is stupid, his kitchen’s a mess and the air’s tinged with the burnt smell from the pan and there’s a streak of cream on Aomine’s cheek and he looks stupid and fuck. Taiga can’t stop laughing, his shoulders shaking uncontrollably. He leans hard against the counter, and he sees through his blurred vision that Aomine’s also in the same condition, his laughter so bright and warm and oh god, _why_. Why can’t Taiga have him?

They settle down eventually, the silence around them comfortable. Aomine is the first one to break it.

“Sorry,” he mumbles, shooting Taiga a sheepish look. “I don’t know what the hell I’m doing.”

Taiga sighs, grabbing the pan and dumping it on the sink to rinse it. “It’s fine. That’s what I’m here for. Just… Listen to what I’m saying and don’t panic.”

“I won’t,” Aomine says, and it’s unusual, seeing him so solemn.

“Alright.” Taiga swallows, throat dry. “Let’s try again.”

And they do. Many times. Aomine doesn’t burn the cream again, but he does burn the chocolate. And then when they do finish the mixture, it’s too bitter and the next batch is too sweet.

Taiga can see Aomine’s patience wearing thin, and to be honest, he’s been expecting the other to have quit by now, but no. Aomine just sighs, then starts over without a complaint or a curse. There’s a determined set to his brows and a focused look in his eyes that Taiga has never seen outside of the court before and it only now dawns on him – _really_ dawns on him – that Aomine is _serious_ about these chocolates. About the person he’s giving these to.

Earlier, when he’d heard Aomine’s request and when they were shopping in the convenience store, even during their first few tries of making the chocolate mixture, he’d been clinging to the hope that Aomine would give up. Because surely, if he gives up easily, it would mean that the person he’s planning to give them to wasn’t really all that important. Which means Taiga would still have a chance to give _his_ chocolates, the ones that have been sitting on his fridge since last night.

But to see Aomine exerting this much effort? Taiga can’t possibly be a match to the person Aomine has his eye on. And with that thought, he smiles, bitter and sad.

_I lose._

 

* * *

 

The chocolates are done and are setting on his counter. Aomine had insisted that Kagami try one to see if it tastes good.

 _‘I want it to be perfect,’_ Aomine had said, eyes intense.

 _‘It’s really good,’_ Taiga had replied, voice light and cheerful and inside he cried because it was, it’s perfect.

Aomine had smiled at him, real and pleased and Taiga wanted to wipe the cream that’s still on his cheek with his finger, but he can’t.

Now they’re cleaning up the mess they made, making small talk about school, Kuroko, their teams, and Kise’s latest failures on getting a date with his former captain and Taiga wishes it can last just a little bit longer. But soon the kitchen is clean and the chocolates are ready – they made truffles, and Aomine looked stupidly adorable when he said, back at the store, _‘Truffles? I thought we were making chocolates’_ – and put into a small box they picked; the box is a deep red, the color of love and passion and anger.

Aomine takes it and handles it so gently, like it’s made of glass, as he puts his jacket and shoes back on. He turns to face him on the genkan, and Taiga can’t bear to look at him any longer.

“Thanks, Kagami. Really,” he says, his grin big and happy.

“You’re welcome, stupid. Though you may want to wipe that thing off your cheek.”

“What the hell?! You could have told me earlier, you shit.” Aomine huffs as he rubs at his face. “Is it gone?”

“Yeah. It’s not much of an improvement though,” Taiga jokes, keeping his breathing as even as he could.

“Asshole.” Aomine laughs, then pulls the door open. “Well, see ya,” he smirks over his shoulder as he heads out. Out of the apartment and out of Taiga’s life.

When he’s finally alone, he takes out the dark blue box from the fridge and opens it. The chocolates are evenly shaped, unlike Aomine’s. They’re also not going to be put in the hands of the one they’re made for, unlike Aomine’s.

He takes one and eats it, savoring the bittersweet taste of the chocolate on his tongue and the richness of the caramel filling.

 _‘It’s good,’_ he thinks through his tears. _‘It’s good.’_

 

* * *

 

“Ah, I’m not feeling well today. Can you tell Coach?”

 _“Yes, I’ll tell her. But are you sure you don’t need to go to the doctor? You sound really_ – _”_

“I’m fine. Really, Kuroko.”

There’s silence on the line before he hears Kuroko sigh. _“Alright then, Kagami-kun. But if you still don’t feel better tomorrow, please go see a doctor,”_ he says, tone firm.

“Yeah, I will,” Taiga assures him.

Kuroko says his goodbye, and Taiga immediately drops the phone on the floor and lies back down on the bed.

Today’s the day – the 14th. He wonders. Has Aomine given his chocolates to the person he likes? Or will he wait until lunch time? Or maybe even after school?

His traitorous mind takes the chance to show him every possible scenario it can think of – Aomine barging in on a classroom and giving his chocolates right then and there, right in front of everyone else; Aomine cornering the person on the stairwell, where it’s just the two of them and with no chance of them being interrupted; Aomine confessing outside, under a just-flowering plum blossom tree, to a girl who’s small and dainty and gentle. Not in any of these does he see Aomine being rejected. Because even though he may be a rude jerk sometimes, he's good-looking and actually cares when and where it matters.

And then what happens afterwards? No more hanging out and weekly one-on-ones. Staying just as friends when for some time now, Taiga had been thinking that Aomine felt something for him too. He scoffs to himself. Apparently not; it was all just wishful thinking on his part.

He rolls to his side and sleeps the day away, dreaming of blue eyes and tanned skin and wide grins that take his breath away.

 

* * *

 

He wakes up to a loud pounding on his door. He sits up, still groggy from sleep, and looks out the window. Taiga’s surprised that it’s already this late; school has most likely ended. But who the hell could be trying to knock his door down? He gets up and walks out the room, not noticing his phone lighting up with a call.

When he gets to the hallway entrance, Taiga hears cursing from outside and his temper flares up all at once. If it’s the neighbor from downstairs complaining about his _‘thundering footsteps’_ again, he’s seriously gonna clock him in the nose.

“What the hell is it?!” he snaps as he flings the door open, expecting to see his pudgy, ill-tempered neighbor but instead, standing there and looking at him in alarm is none other than –

“ _Aomine?_ What are you doing here?”

“What are _you_ doing home?! I went by Seirin and you weren’t there and I thought – ” Aomine stops and glances away, shifting on his feet. When he looks back at him, his face is serious and intent. “Anyway, can I come in?”

“What? Why the hell are you…” Taiga comes out of his shock just enough to register that Aomine is in front of him holding a bouquet of blood red roses, and something in his throat closes up, he finds it hard to breathe, and along with the breathlessness comes a thread of anger, hot and boiling and threatening to swallow him whole. He didn’t think Aomine would be such a bastard to show up all this way and rub in his face that he has someone else he likes, someone not Taiga.

He sees Aomine open his mouth to say something, but he cuts him off, says in a tone he’s never used on the other man before – low and chilly and _hurt_ – “Go away. Leave me the fuck alone.”

Aomine takes a step back in surprise and looks at him, his eyes so wide and his lips trembling when he says, “What are you saying? I just – ”

“Just go,” he grits out, and he sees Aomine’s fingers tightening on the plastic wrapping of the bouquet (Ha! Who knew Aomine was such a romantic, he thinks bitterly). “Go and give those things to that girl you like.”

There’s a furrow of confusion forming on Aomine’s eyebrows, and a second later he turns the confusion to anger, just as he always does. “What girl? What the hell are you talking about?!”

“The girl you’re planning on confessing to, who the hell else?!” Taiga almost shouts in frustration. Why can’t this asshole just _go?_

Aomine gapes at him, his face twisted into something incredulous and unflattering, and god, why does Taiga still want to kiss him at this moment?

“What the fuck, Kagami? Are you kidding me? Is this a joke?” he says, tone low and threatening.

Instead of being cowed, it just makes Taiga’s blood boil, his grip on the door knob tightening painfully. “I should be the one saying that! You fucking ask me to teach you how to make chocolates for someone else when you _know_ I – ”

“The chocolates are for _you_ , you redheaded idiot!”

“ – like… What?” Taiga whispers, his anger leaving him along with his breath.

Aomine lets out a deep sigh, but he looks at him head-on, with his eyes bright and intense and two ruddy spots of color high on his cheeks. “The chocolates. And the damn flowers. They’re for you, you _Baka_ gami.”

“I’m…” he mutters. He heard the words but his brain is taking forever to process what it means. “But the girl – ”

“Aarrghhh! There’s no girl! There’s never been any girl!”

Taiga watches Aomine frown and pull at his hair in agitation and it’s funny, it is, but he doesn’t – _can’t_ – laugh.

Aomine looks at him and sighs again. “Look, can we at least talk inside? Your downstairs neighbor has been giving me the stink eye this whole time.”

That breaks him out of his stupor, and he steps back from the door to let the other pass. Taiga does _not_ inhale Aomine’s scent in, warm and musky and comforting and no, he doesn’t. He leads the way to the living room and steps in front of Aomine before he gets a chance to get comfortable on the couch.

“Explain,” he says, crossing his arms to prevent them from reaching out and hugging the other man, because dammit, he’s been making himself angst and cry all this time and he needs a moment or two to get his bearings.

“I like you. Really, _really_ like,” Aomine says, his voice so earnest and soft and Taiga’s heart starts beating so fast he fears it’s going to burst out of his chest. “And I thought you knew that. Tetsu said you did,” he adds the last part almost as an afterthought.

So he _was_ right? Still, what the hell? “But why ask me to help you make the chocolates if you’re going to give them to me in the end?!”

Aomine grimaces. “Well who else was I gonna ask? Tetsu only knows how to cook an egg and if I asked for Ryou’s help he would have apologized the whole time and I would have killed us both before we get anything done. And do you seriously expect me to ask _Satsuki?_ ”

Oh, right.

“And I told you! I wanted it to be perfect,” the other continues, his voice trailing off in embarrassment, but he doesn’t look away even as he reaches inside his bag and takes out and hands over the dark red box. “I don’t know anyone else who cooks better than you, Kagami.”

Taiga stares at the box and reaches out to take it with a shaking hand. He knows what’s inside; has seen it and tried it and is it really his? “I really thought… these were for another person. I’m… ” _Angry_ . He’s so angry at himself for doubting what he’s been seeing all the weeks before this and at _Aho_ mine for being so fucking stupid and sweet and he wants to throw this box of chocolate truffles at Aomine’s face so much, just to get him back for all the confusion and the frustration and tears from last night.

Something must have shown on his face because Aomine’s suddenly grabbing his wrist. “Don’t throw it. You know I worked hard on those, so _please._ I thought you knew, I really did. I’m sorry. You can punch me instead, or fuck, here,” he shoves the flowers to his chest, “here, slap me with these. Ah, but roses have thorns right? Shit, so maybe not in the face ‘cause that will hurt and that will be embarrassing and - why are you laughing?!”

“Can I taste the chocolates?” Taiga asks after he calms down, clutching the bouquet of red roses - the color of love and passion - closer and smelling the faint, sweet smell of it. The ridiculousness and utter _realness_ of the situation catches up with him, chasing away all the negative thoughts and emotions he’d been wallowing in. He won’t be forgiving Aomine anytime soon, but he feels so light and happy right now he might just give the other man a chance to convince him otherwise.

“Uh. Yeah?” Aomine mumbles as he lets go of Taiga and scratches at the tip of his nose almost shyly. “I mean, they’re for you so…”

Taiga smiles at him, watching in amusement as the other blushes a deep shade of red. (Huh. Taiga should do that more often; he likes that look on Aomine’s face.) He takes the lid off the box and picks the one he knows was Aomine’s first successful creation.

“How is it?” Aomine asks him as he chews, and he looks so nervous it’s endearing. God, why does Taiga love such an idiot.

“Perfect,” he says, because it is. It's even better than the one last night.

Aomine’s grin is wide and bright, it’s infectious and addictive and Taiga almost cries at the realization that this man is _his._ “Of course. I learned from the best after all.”

He scoffs, his own grin stretching across his mouth. “Shut up and kiss me, you idiot.”

And Aomine does, with a smirk and a smug _‘Okay’,_ soft, plump lips against his and hands cupping his face gently. Taiga sighs into the kiss, feeling warm down to his toes and he’s wanted this so much and for so long and now that he has it –

It’s perfect and he wants more.

 

 

 

**Author's Note:**

> **and then they fight again when Aomine finds out that Kagami ate all of the chocolates that were supposed to be _his._


End file.
